What Were You Wearing? Exhibit Tues Oct 24 – Wed Oct 25
The Sexual Violence Prevention & Response Office (SVPRO), in partnership with the Sexual Assault Domestic Violence Treatment Centre (SADVTC), is bringing the What Were You Wearing? Art Exhibit to UWaterloo. The exhibit is based on student-survivor descriptions of the clothes they were wearing when they were sexually assaulted. Sexual assault survivors are often asked, “what were you wearing?”, implying that what someone is wearing is the cause of their assault.
This myth about sexual violence is used to blame survivors and justify the actions of those who cause harm. Survivors are never to blame for their sexual assault. The intent of this exhibit is to bring awareness and attention to the pervasiveness of victim blaming and the harm and trauma it causes.
The “What Were You Wearing?” Art Exhibit was inspired by Dr. Mary Simmerling’s poem, What I was Wearing, and was created at the University of Arkansas in 2013 by Jen Brockman and Dr. Mary Wyandt-Hiebert. UWaterloo’s exhibit can be found in the SLC multi-purpose room on Tuesday Oct 24 and Wed Oct 25 from 10am – 8pm.
Everyone Welcome!
Engage with the exhibit at your own pace.
Questions can be directed to: Stacey Jacobs,
s3jacobs@uwaterloo.ca
